1 Overview
Teleportation (Beam) is a gameplay mechanics that allows players to displace their host stations and re-materialise at the other parts of the level.
2 Mechanics
Teleportation allows the relocation of the player's host station to the other locations in a matter of second. Beam energy is used to teleport the host station around the level. The energy expenditure is directly relative to the proximity of beaming distances. Unlike the player, the AI cannot teleport their host stations.
Beaming has several advantages over manually moving around. One of the major advantages is the fact that the beaming is instant, and the cost for teleportation over the friendly power stations is completely free across the level, regardless of the actual distances. This means having a control of power stations scattered around the level allows a rapid deployment and manoeuvre of the host station, effectively increasing the sphere of influence and map control for the faction.
Beaming over a large distance costs a lot of energy (except when beamed on top of the friendly power station sectors). To compensate this, the player can decide to make multiple 'chain' beams over a short distance to cover a large area. This is an energy efficient method to displace a large distance without having to spend too much energy. Such restrictions exist to prevent exploitation of beaming function to always reliably escape a dangerous situation. If the players are forced to perform a small beam over the distance, at least they can be tracked much more easily. This also renders securing a safe beam point around the level even more crucial.
3 AI and User Differences
Unlike the player, AI players cannot teleport their host stations. Instead, AI can relocate their host stations by flying around like a normal unit. While this does not cost energy, it has significant drawbacks compared to the instant and more reliable teleportation method. Host stations are massive entities and their slow speeds mean that the moving host stations can be easily tracked by enemies, and while repositioning between two points the host stations become even more vulnerable and susceptible to attack since there is no other emergency method to escape volatile situations. AI host stations will also damage and destroy buildings they come across in their path by collision to make room for themselves, and they will also attempt to climb up any elevations in their path. Which acts as a further deterrent to their movement.
